973.7L63 
B2K12^ 
EAST  CAGE 


Kaine,    Johr  Lang don 
Lincoln  as  a  boy  loiew  him 


LINCOLN  ROOM 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 
LIBRARY 


MEMORIAL 

the  Class  of  1901 

founded  by 

HARLAN  HOYT  HORNER 

and 

HENRIETTA  CALHOUN  HORNER 


.  >  i       -  .        > 


•Jn 


cmcocn  m  n  bov  nnem  Rrm, 


BY  JOHN  LANGDON  KAINE. 


-m 


■mm 


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cineocn  Ji$  Ji  bov  nnem  mm. 


BY  JOHN  LANGDON  KAINE. 


Printed  by  a  lover  of  Cincoln  in  an  edition  of 
25  numbered  copies  of  wbicb  tl)i$  is  no. 


^^ 


^wc  c^j^  nncocn  m  j\  bov  Rnem  Bim, 

By  John  Langdon  Kainb. 

"And  did  you  ouce  see  Shelley  plain, 
And  did  he  stop  and  speak  to  you, 

And  did  you  speak  to  him  again? 
How  strange  it  seems,  and  new!" 

Browning's    "Memorabilia." 

It  is  more  than  half  a  century  since  I  knew  Abraham  Lin- 
coln -  knew  him  as  well,  perhaps,  as  could  any  small  boy  not 
a  member  of  his  household  ;  yet  his  homely  features  are  as  dis- 
tinct in  my  memory  as  though  only  a  year  had  passed  .  I 
thought  he  was  the  tallest  man  in  all  Springfield;  also  that 
he  was  old,  though  really  he  was  in  his  prime.  This  impres- 
sion of  age  I  can  trace  to  the  many  fine  lines  which  marked 
his  pleasant  face,  but  which  do  not  appear  in  his  portraits. 
Apart  from  his  remarkable  height,  his  seeming  age,  and  his 
local  importance,  my  chief  idea  about  Mr.  Lincoln  was  that 
he  was  good.  I  readily  accepted  my  father's  assurance  that  Mr. 
Lincoln  was  the  greatest  man  within  the  range  of  my  limited 
knowledge. 

Near  the  office  of  the  ''Journal",  between  Mr.  Carmody's 
liquor  store  and  a  clothing  hou^e,  there  was  a  large  vacant  lot, 
>     shut  off  from  the  view  of  the  street  by  a  tight  board  fence. 
V.     The    high,  windowless  brick  walls  were  smooth  enough  to 
J     serve  admirably  for  hand-ball.  I  do  not  know  whether  Mr.  Lin- 
^•'     coin  went  there  often  for  exercise.  I  saw  him  at  play  several 
times,  and  one  afternoon  is  memorable  because  he  called  to  me 
by  name,   to  take  his  coat.   His  agility  was  surprising  in  view 
-.    of  his  usual  deliberate,   almost  indolent  manner  ;  and  his  long 
"^      legs  and  long  arms  gave  him  a  remarkable  range  of  play.     He 
was  entirely  democratic  here,  taking  the  inevitable  chaffing 
of  the  Irish  players  and  spectators  amiably,  and  sometimes  re- 
turning it.  There  is  an  apocryphal  story  that  he  was  at  this 
hand-ball  court  when  he  received  the  news  of  his  nomination 
for  President. 

When  and  how  I  came  to  be  known  to  the  lawyer,  I  do 
not  recollect.  As  far  back  as  I  can  remember,  he  spoke  to  me 
familiarly  in  the  street,  and  when  I  called  at  his  office  on  an 
affair  of  tremendous  importance,  he  greeted  me  as  an  old 
friend . 

Springfield  had  a  volunteer  fire  department,  with  en- 
gines worked  by  hand.  There  was  a  juvenile  company,  of 
course,  but  to  run  with  a  clothes-line  attached  to  mere  air,  or 
at  best,  to  a  pumpless  sulky,  borrowed  from  unguarded  prem- 
ises, was  not  satisfying.  It  was  a  momentous  discovery  that  at 
Withey's  carriage  "repository"  there  was  a  force-pump  on 
four  wheels  for  garden  service.  It  had  only  an  ordinary  pump- 
handle.  For  a  certain  considerable  sum,  Mr.  Withey  would 
substitute  for  this  handle  two  brakes  long  enough  for  the 
hands  of  a  dozen  boys.  He  allowed  us  to  test  its  pumping 
qualities,  and  it  was  agreed  that  it  should  be  named  "The 
Deluge."  Clearly  this  was  a  matter  of  public  concern.  There 
was  obvious  reason  why  citizens  with  inflammable  property 
should  contribute  to  the  purchase  of  the  machine. 


It  was  decided  to  collect  a  quarter  each  from  such  house- 
holders as  should  prove  approachable.  On  the  whole,  a  fair 
number  realized  the  importance  of  the  business;  so  it  was 
with  some  confidence  that  I  attacked  the  law  office  of  Linc- 
oln and  Herndon.  Fortunately,  Mr.  Lincoln  was  alone  and  so 
far  from  busy  that  he  was  only  reading-  a  book. 

His  "Well,  Johnny,  what  can  the  law  do  for  you?"  was 
distinctly  eucourag-iug,  and  I  rapidly  explained  our  scheme. 
He  was  instantly  and  deeply  interested.  He  probed  me  with 
questions;  and  he  said  he  was  pleased  with  the  name  "  De- 
luge", declaring-  it  was  better  than  ''Gusher"  or  "Spouter" 
or  any  of  several  others,  the  absurdity  of  which  did  not  strike 
me  at  the  time  .  Still,  I  was  half  aware  that  the  lawyer  was 
having  some  private  fun  with  me.  Though  I  may  have  thought 
it  too  frivolous  for  the  occasion,  I  was  willing,  if  only  he 
would  contribute  his  quarter.  This  he  did  with  great  solem- 
nity and  deliberation  . 

Moreover,  when  Mr.  Herndon  came  in,  evidently  not  in 
good  humor,  Mr.  Lincoln  explained  my  mission  and  urged  his 
partner  to  subscribe,  reminding  him  that  even  his  hen-house 
was  inflammable.  Mr.  Herndon  was  impatient  with  the  fool- 
ing, and  tried  to  shut  it  off  by  speaking  of  mere  law  business. 
With  his  native  kindness,  Mr.  Lincoln  eased  my  departure, 
exacting  a  promise  that  I  would  keep  him  informed  as  to  the 
progress  of  the  work  on  the  machine. 

Although  I  took  Mr.  I/incoln's  apparent  interest  as  real, 
I  did  not  call  at  his  office  again  for  some  time.  The  Withey 
establishment  did  not  realize  the  importance  of  haste,  not 
knowing  the  transient  nature  of  boys  enthusiasms.  Day  after 
day  delegations  called  at  the  shops,  only  to  find  no  change  in 
the  condition  of  the  force-pump;  and  too,  they  had  not  even 
the  satisfaction  of  repeating  the  test.  One  day  Colonel  Ells- 
worth's Chicago  Zouaves  came  to  town,  as  the  beginning  of 
such  a  triumphal  tour  of  the  country  as  no  other  military  com- 
pany had  ever  made.  Instantly,  of  course,  the  fickle  lads  were 
all  for  the  soldier  life;  drums  and  wooden  guns  took  the  place 
of  red  shirts  and  fire-fighting-. 

My  father's  early  idea  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  greatness  had 
been  confirmed  in  my  small  mind  long  before,  by  the  immense 
crowd  which  had  streamed  to  a  field  near  my  home,  where 
usually  the  circus  tents  were  spread,  to  hear  him  speak.  Prob- 
ably it  was  one  of  the  series  of  meetings  in  the  Lincoln-Doug- 
las debates,  which  first  made  Mr.  Lincoln  known  beyond  the 
boundaries  of  the  State.  The  cheers  of  the  people  were  more 
frequent  and  louder  than  the  roars  evoked  by  the  circus  clown. 
To  me  there  could  be  no  more  severe  test  of  greatness. 

I  became  the  drummer  in  a  military  band,  and  it  happened 
that  this  threw  me  more  than  ever  in  Mr.  Lincoln's  way.  Col- 
onel Ellsworth,  after  a  hard  fight  against  poverty  in  Chicago 
came  to  the  State  capital  to  read  law  in  Mr.  Lincoln'  s  office. 
At  once  he  was  engaged  to  train  a  crack  military  company  in 
the  spectacular  Zouave  manual  and  tactics.  As  I  was  called  on 
to  drum  for  the  Zouaves,  and  was  the  only  boy  at  hand,  it  was 
only  natural  that  Colonel  Ellsworth  should  employ  me  for  little 
services,  and  this  took  me  often  to  Mr.  Lincoln's  office. 

Lie-.-- 


One  afternoon,  having  to  meet  the  colonel  there,  I  found 
Mr.  Lincoln  alone.  He  stood  gazing  out  of  a  window,  his 
hands  behind  his  back,  and  looking  taller  than  his  inches  be- 
cause of  the  long-skirted  black  cloth  coat  then  in  fashion. 
This  was  about  his  only  concession  to  style,  save  an  occasion- 
al new  silk  hat.  As  his  feet  were  most  often  on  a  table  when 
I  was  with  him,  I  could  see  that  his  big,  long-legged  boots 
were  made  for  comfort,  and  were  therefore  almost  formless. 
He  was  not  over-fastidious  as  to  their  polish.  His  shirt-collar 
which  was  not  removable,  was  also  designed  for  comfort  in 
its  looseness.  He  did  not  wear  the  old  stock,  which  many  prim 
lawyers  still  retained,  but  a  loosely  tied  black  band . 

Evidently  Mr.  Lincoln  was  in  a  talkative  mood,  for  in  the 
absence  of  an  older  person,  he  seemed  pleased  to  see  me,  He 
put  me  through  a  course  of  questions ,  probably  to  get  at  the 
thoughts  and  interests  of  the  boy  of  the  day.  One  discovery 
was  that  the  thing  in  which  I  was  most  interested  at  school 
— probably  because  I  had  a  knack  of  doing  it  fairly  well  for  a 
boy — was  declamation.  Nothing  would  do  but  1  must  repeat 
an  oration.  To  this  day  I  wonder  at  and  admire  the  tact  with 
which  he  overcame  my  great  embarrassment.  The  place  and 
and  conditions  were  such  as  to  make  a  boy  resolve  to  perish 
before  raising  his  voice  in  a  school  declamatory  exercise  .  Yet 
before  I  quite  knew  it,  or  knew  how  he  did  it,  he  had  me 
standing  at  the  table  and  shouting  a  tribute  to  Washington. 
He  was  really  interested,  for  he  went  oyer  the  piece  himself, 
to  give  his  notion  of  the  emphasis  and  inflection;  and  he  un- 
dertook to  make  me  explain  why  "he  needs  no  marble  monu- 
ment, no  consecrated  pile."  To  illustrate  some  point,  he  re- 
called one  of  the  many  speeches  he  said  he  had  "  learned  by 
heart"  when  he  began  the  study  of  law,  hesitating  now  and 
then,  but  always  getting  the  word  at  last.  He  mentioned  many 
famous  addresses,  all  of  which  he  knew  at  one  time,  when  he 
was  forming  what  he  called  "an  unnatural  style  of  speech" 
for  professional  use. 

"Try  to  think  they're  your  own  words,  and  talk  them  as 
you  would  talk  them  to  me,"  was  his  advice  after  I  had  ranted 
in  school-boy  manner.  He  insisted,  too,  on  the  importance  of 
learning,  in  early  life,  sentiments  expressed  in  verse.  In  effect 
he  said  that  as  a  man  grows  older,  lines  which  he  learned  be- 
cause of  their  pleasant  sound,  come  to  have  a  meaning;  just 
as  old  saws  show  their  truth  in  later  life;  "It  is  a  pleasure," 
he  said,  "to  be  able  to  quote  lines  to  fit  any  occasion,"  and 
he  noted  that  the  Bible  is  the  richest  source  of  pertinent  quo- 
tations. I  think  Mr.  Lincoln  had  much  to  do  with  creating 
whatever  ambition  I  had  for  the  reading  of  history,  on  which 
he  placed  great  stress. 

The  arrival  of  Colonel  Ellsworth  did  not  at  once  put  an 
end  to  the  entertainment,  for  he,  too,  was  concerned.  As  a  law 
student,  he  was  then  making  a  study  of  forensic  expression. 
The  interest,  however,  was  shifted  from  oratory  by  Mr.  Line- 
coin,  who  asked  the  colonel  to  hear  a  dramatic  poem.  I  think 
he  went  into  another  room  for  it,  but,  anyhow,  he  brought  out 
several  sheets  of  paper  on  which  the  matter  was  written. 


Evidently  it  was  not  yet  widely  published,  and  I  have 
never  been  able  to  identify  the  poem.  I  am  positive,  though, 
that  it  was  not  what  is  alleged  to  have  been  his  favorite, 
' '  Why  Should  the  Spirit  of  Mortal  be  Proud?"  However  much 
he  may  have  been  attached  to  that,  he  did  not  mention  it. 

As  Mr.  Lincoln  recited  in  full,  rolling  sentences,  he  held 
up  a  finger  and  carried  it  back  and  forth  to  mark  the  sweep 
of  the  lines.  He  showed  a  great  power  of  dramatic  expression 
and  the  rise  and  fall  of  his  voice  was  musical.  The  sentiment 
was  lost  on  me,  to  whom  the  words  were  all  Greek,  but  un- 
doubtedly I  enjoyed  the  swing  of  thing. 

It  was  plain  that  Mr.  Lincoln  and  the  little  colonel  were 
most  friendly.  Often  I  had  seen  Mr.  Lincoln  place  his  hand  on 
Colonel  Ellsworth's  shoulder,  or  take  hold  of  bis  arm  in  a  way 
to  show  not  merely  liking,  but  sincere  affection,  and  this  the 
latter  was  one   to  inspire. 

When  I  drummed  at  the  head  of  the  delegation  which 
came  from  the  Chicago  Convention  to  notify  Mr.  Lincoln  of 
his  nomination,  marching  with  a  great  crowd  to  the  Lincoln 
home,  I  felt  much  pride  and  a  personal  interest  in  the  event. 
My  great  man  had  become  the  nation's  great  man.  All  through 
that  furious  campaign,  I  drummed  far  and  near,  for  the  band 
was  famous  in  central  Illinois.  Everywhere  there  were  com- 
panies of  Republican  "  Wide  Awakes,"  and  in  no  later  nation- 
al campaign  has  there  been  the  same  mania  for  nightly  meet- 
ings and  street  deraonstralions.  The  patience  of  the  people 
under  the  steady  flow  of  oratory  was  equal  to  the  endurance 
of  the  endless  succession  of  speakers.  The  "Wide  Awakes" 
were  armed  with  torches  which  left  a  long  trail  of  kerosene 
odor  on  the  nignt  air,  and  they  wore  red  military  caps  and 
blue  capes  of  shiny  leather.  Their  appearance  on  parade  was 
as  brilliant  as  that  of  any  military  body  with  more  costly  un- 
iform. There  was  a  keen  rivalry  in  drill,  with  prizes  for  the 
most  expert,  and  this  led  to  evolutions  which  aroused  much 
enthusiasm.  The  changing  positions  of  the  torches  as  the 
long  procession  evolved  complicated  figures  far  down  the 
street,  was  a  stirring*  spectacle  which  all  the  world  crowded 
to  witness.  To  this  day  the  pentrating  odor  of  a  smoky  lamp 
calls  up  visions  of  the  night  parades  of  1860.  Everywhere 
wigwams  were  erected, — circular  buildings  of  unplaned  boards 
— where  the  spouting  went  on  perpetually,  and  where  many 
a  politician  who  later  won  national  fame  got  his  start.  The 
beat  of  the  drum  and  the  tramp  of  feet  seemed  never  silent 
until  the  drummers,  still  leading  the  "Wide  Awakes," 
marched  off  to  the  war  in  1861 . 

In  this  campaign  Mr.  Lincoln,  to  all  appearances,  made 
no  change  in  his  way  of  living,  save  that  he  now  wore  his  best 
black  suit  on  week-days  (it  was  still  the  age  of  the  Sunday 
clothes)  and  had  bought  a  new  hat  before  it  was  due  in  the 
natural  course.  Also,  he  deserted  his  law  office.  He  was  now 
to  be  found  in  the  larger  rooms  of  the  State  Auditor,  (JesiC 
K.  Dubois,  father  of  the  late  Senator  Dubois  of  Idaho),  where 
were  displayed  many  curious  presents,  one  of  which  had  been 
intended  for  Mr.  Seward  when  he  should  be  nominated,  but 
was  now  given  to  Mr.  Lincoln  with  hearty  good-will. 


Mr.  Lincoln  never  seemed  to  be  driven  or  anxious,  but 
was  always  the  amiable,  friendly  self  the  town  had  known  so 
long-.  On  the  day  of  the  big-  Democratic  rally  I  was  at  the 
office  of  Mr.  Enoch  Moore,  at  the  State  House,  with  other 
youthful  politicians.  We  were  depressed.  As  the  procession 
drag-g-ed  its  awful  leng-th  along-,  it  looked  as  thoug-h  the  world 
had  become  Democratic.  Reluctantly  we  gave  up  hope  of  Mr. 
Lincoln's  election,  and  were  much  concerned  for  his  feeling-s. 
He  had  appeared  to  be  so  confident  that  defeat  must  be  har- 
rowing. Then  Mr.  Lincoln  himself  came  in,  smiling-  and  ap- 
parently unaware  of  the  impending  disaster.  With  his  custom- 
ary kindness,  he  spoke  to  us  and  rallied  us  on  our  g-lumness. 
When  he  learned  the  cause,  he  laug-hed  heartily  and  with  ab- 
andon. Then  he  hastened  to  reassure  us.  "Wh}',  this  is  noth- 
ing"," he  declared;  ''Just  wait  till  the  eig-hth  of  August,  and 
we'll  show  this  rag-tag  and  bobtail  what  a  grand  rally  is." 

The  August  meeting  was,  indeed,  a  tremendous  affair. 
Uniformed  companies  came  from  towns  a  hundred  miles  away, 
and  from  the  country  came  mounted  men  in  gay  attire  and 
looking  in  their  tin  head-gear  like  the  crusading  knights. 
Although  nothing  was  heard  in  that  day  of  big  campaign  ex- 
penditures, the  cost  must  have  been  enormous.  This  was  only 
one  of  hundreds  of  great  gatherings.  The  thousands  of  people 
who  filled  a  large  grove,  and  ran  over  into  the  surrounding 
fields,  were  all  fed,  and  there  was  no  mean  variety  on  the 
tables.  I  dare  not  estimate  the  number  of  beeves  roasted  whole 
in  barbecue  style.  Deep  pits,  looking  like  fresh-made  graves, 
were  half  filled  with  wood  fires,  and  over  each  was  suspended 
the  carcass  of  a  beef  which  was  kept  turning  slowly.  There 
seemed  to  be  miles  of  tables,  made  of  rough  boards.  The  mere 
cutting  of  the  loaves  of  bread  for  the  multitude  was  a  prodi- 
gious task  for  scores  of  men.  At  intervals  about  the  grounds 
were  hogsheads  of  ice-water  and  wash-tubs  of  lemonade.  At 
greater  intervals  were  speakers  stands  at  which  orators  spouted 
patriotism,  with  grateful  interruptions  from  brass  bands  and 
glee  clubs.  There  were  no  street  railways  then,  and  most  of 
the  vast  crowd  of  heated  and  tired  people,  including  faint  wo- 
men and  fretful  children,  walked  the  long  dusty  road  back  to 
town,  with  no  apparent  loss  of  enthusiasm.  Far  into  the  night 
could  be  heard  the  mounted  men  singing  the  glee  choruses  and 
shouting  campaign  cries,  as  college  boys  disturb  the  quiet 
with  their  cries  after  a  foot-ball  game. 

Again  I  drummed  when  Mr.  Lincoln,  leaving  for  the  in- 
auguration at  Washington,  bade  farewell  to  his  old  friends, 
and  all  party  differences  were  forgotten  in  the  parting.  I  did 
not  cease  drumming  until  the  curtain  fell  on  the  war  tragedy 
in  the  grand  review  of  the  returning  volunteers  in  Washing- 
ton, In  this  tragedy,  Colonel  Ellsworth  was  the  war's  first 
conspicuous  victim;  Lincoln  himself  the  last. 


««««««««««»««««««««««««« 


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UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA 

973.7L63B2K12L  C001 

LINCOLN  AS  A  BOY  KNEW  HIM. 


01 


031794651 


